Triple murderer Kevin Cleeves gets life without parole

A Waynesboro man pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder Friday in Franklin County Court, and was sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences in a state correctional facility with no possibility of parole.Kevin Matthew Cleeves, 36, agreed to a plea deal in the July 2012 shooting deaths of his est...

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By Denise Bonura

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Denise Bonura

Posted May. 11, 2013 at 7:34 AM
Updated May 11, 2013 at 7:39 AM

By Denise Bonura

Posted May 11, 2013 at 7:34 AM
Updated May 11, 2013 at 7:39 AM

A Waynesboro man pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder Friday in Franklin County Court, and was sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences in a state correctional facility with no possibility of parole.
Kevin Matthew Cleeves, 36, agreed to a plea deal in the July 2012 shooting deaths of his estranged wife, 25-year-old Brandi (Killingsworth) Cleeves, her 29-year-old boyfriend, Vincent “Luke” Santucci Jr., and Santucci’s mother, Rosemary “Linda” Holma, 55, outside of Holma’s Quincy Township home.
The plea saved him from the death penalty, a move that angered some of the surviving family members who said they pleaded with District Attorney Matthew Fogal to take the case to trial.
Fogal said he carefully considered all options and discussed them with the families involved.
Fogal said in court he did not want Cleeves’ young daughter Leia, who witnessed the murders, to endure the pain of testifying at a trial.
“There is a little girl involved in this case. She witnessed three people murdered in front of her. One of them was her mother, and she saw her father do this,” Fogal said.
“This case is done. This horrible chapter in these family members’ lives is over,” Fogal said. “I don’t think this brings closure to all of the events that have taken place, and it will not necessarily bring healing, but it is a step.”
Cleeves was also charged with kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child and two firearms violations in the case, but the charges were dropped in the plea deal.
After he shot Santucci and Brandi Cleeves, he grabbed Leia, then 4, from the backseat of Santucci’s car and while holding her, shot Holma, who was running to help the victims. Cleeves fled with Leia, and was captured the next day in Austintown, Ohio.
Court proceedings
Cleeves, in an orange jumpsuit with shackles around his wrists and ankles, responded with a simple, “Yes,” when Judge Shawn Meyers asked him if he understood the charges he was pleading guilty to, and the sentences he faces. Meyers read each count of murder to Cleeves, and asked him what he did in each instance. Cleeves responded with a simple, “I shot her,” or “I shot him,” and admitted he intentionally and knowingly did so.
Cleeves also agreed to a no contact provision regarding the victims’ family members with the exception of special circumstances regarding his daughter. Fogal said Cleeves is not permitted to initiate contact with her at all. Prior to her 18th birthday, if Leia initiates contact with her father, she must have the consent of her legal guardian. Once she turns 18, she can choose to contact him on her own.
Cleeves was also ordered to pay $30,869.46 in restitution, $1,500 in fines and other court costs and fines. His attorney, public defender Michael Toms, asked Meyers to keep the fines at a minimum so any money collected in the case could go to the victims’ families.
The lives he stole
Cleeves stood quietly as several family members addressed him, painting a picture of their loved ones whose lives he stole, the countless tears shed for them and what heroes they were in the last minutes of their lives.
Vincent Santucci Sr. of Gettysburg asked the court why it was dropping the additional charges when Cleeves did commit those crimes.
“This is an injustice to the family, the victims and the citizens of Franklin County,” he said.
Santucci said he listened to the 911 call made by his son, and heard “the most horrible thing I have ever heard in my life.”
“The hysterical screams of both Brandi and Leia, and then only the screaming of Leia. During this cowardly ambush, he shot my son eight times. Is there any question what his intent was? I think you failed the Pennsylvania citizens if you drop those charges. This was a completely reckless act he committed with the total disregard of the safety of Leia, who was sitting strapped in a carseat behind Luke. What kind of a father would endanger their child like that? Yet I don’t understand why the court is not charging him with child endangerment.”
Meyers asked Toms if his client would consider admitting to the guilt of the other charges, and the hearing was recessed for nearly an hour.
When he returned, Meyers asked Cleeves if he would admit to the guilt of the additional charges, and he replied, “Yes.”
Meyers said since Cleeves is receiving three consecutive life sentences, the penalties for the remaining charges would merge with them.
“I did listen to every word you said,” Meyers told the family members. “There is nothing I can say in this courtroom to lessen the loss. It is true that the court is merely an embodiment of the implementation of manmade justice. I can simply say to you I appreciate your courage to come forward, speak publicly and honor your loved ones in the way you did today.”
Cleeves shed no tears during Friday’s hearing, but did address the families before Meyers sentenced him after submitting a four-page letter he wrote to them, which was not read out loud in court.
“I completely understand why most of you hate me,” he said. “If I was in your position, I would, too. I’m so very sorry for what I did. I wish I could express it more than I am. I wish that one day God will forgive me.”